Feb. 17, 2011

Secret To The Leap? Not The Flea's Knees

Fleas are admirable jumpers -- a talent that humans have recognized for thousands of years, according to engineer Greg Sutton. Yet, until this week, exactly how fleas propel themselves wasn't understood. Sutton and Malcolm Burrows, of the University of Cambridge, filmed fleas jumping, analyzed flea anatomy, made mathematical models and cracked the flea leap mystery. It's not in the knees.